Top Unified administrators get pink slips

San Diego  The pink slip hemorrhage at the San Diego Unified School District has surpassed the estimate approved by the board of education last week by nearly 25 percent and now extends to top administrators.

The school board voted last Thursday to issue layoff warnings to 1,074 educators — including 885 teachers — to help offset a proposed deficit of up to $114 million to the next year’s $1.04 billion operating budget. But at the last minute, trustees directed Superintendent Bill Kowba to cut an additional $4 million from the central office. By downsizing the administration, the board hopes to eventually help restore some of most severe budget cuts — such as increases to class size in the earliest elementary grades and the elimination of campus nurses.

That has resulted in the pink slip total rising to 1,335 for educators.

Kowba and his staff scrambled to review district personnel expenses and identify potential layoffs for those with teaching credentials in time to meet a March 15 deadline.

Among those added to the pink slip list are all eight “area superintendents,” administrators who oversee clusters of schools and report to Kowba. Resource teachers who work on curriculum and other managers also made the list.

Because the managers often hold credentials in more than one subject area, they are eligible for multiple classroom jobs and would bump less-experienced teachers from their posts. All told, 945.1 full-time educator positions (up from 920 identified March 10) have been tapped for elimination. But 1,355 educators (up from 1,074) have received pink slips, in part because it’s unclear how the bumping process will unfold.

Additional central office employees will also be tapped for potential layoffs by Kowba to achieve the $4 million savings ordered by the school board. Only those with teaching credentials must be warned of layoffs by March 15 under the law.

In addition to warning teachers of potential layoffs, the school board also voted last week to notice more than 800 nonteaching employees — including bus drivers, office clerks and classroom aides — that they may lose their jobs next year.